History

History of Perth College

Becoming an independent, confident and determined young woman begins with a solid foundation.

Nurturing girls into capable, courageous and caring young women doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s important to start from the very beginning, a process we’ve been fine-tuning since our foundation.

Perth College is one of the oldest independent girls’ schools in Western Australia, and one of many schools founded worldwide by the Community of the Sisters of the Church, an Anglican religious order established in 1870. In those days, the Sisters’ vision of the potential of women challenged the accepted ideas of the time, and so a strong belief system was born: the notion that young women should work hard to make the most of their opportunities, and use their positions in society or privileges to make a difference. The Sisters who founded the School were aware of building for posterity, believed in girls’ education, and saw the potential of women to achieve great things. From this beginning, Perth College Old Girls have pioneered new roles for women and made significant contributions to the community over many generations.

From its original enrolment of 32 students at a site in West Perth in 1902, Perth College grew rapidly and moved during 1916 to its current location in Mount Lawley. A decade later in 1927, our Chapel was built, which provided a spiritual heart for the School and enabled a more tangible focus on our school motto Pro Ecclesia Dei - for the Church of God. 1968 saw a milestone event in the handover of the School from the Sisters to the Anglican Province of Western Australia, and in 2002 we celebrated our centenary.

While our student population now exceeds 1,170 girls and we have witnessed exponential growth since 1902, the determination of Perth College girls has never wavered and we have a tight-knit School community proud of its heritage.